


the five stages

by BookRockShooter



Category: Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies), Spider-Man - All Media Types
Genre: Canon Compliant, Character Study, Fix-It of Sorts, Flash Thompson Redemption, Gen, Kinda, Post-Canon, Post-Spider-Man: Far From Home, Pre-Slash, Probably ooc, Spider-Man: Far From Home (Movie) Spoilers, i'm sorry h, maybe??? idfk i wrote this to get my feelings out, of sorts, perhaps, technically
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-17
Updated: 2019-07-17
Packaged: 2020-06-30 02:30:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,192
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19843711
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BookRockShooter/pseuds/BookRockShooter
Summary: Flash can’t help but think back to all the time’s he’s been an asshole to Parker, because of course. Offuckingcourse they’re the same person and Flash has been making the guy he idolizes feel like shit for years because he doesn’t know how to handle people that are better than him in every way.-or, post-ffh finds Flash not knowing how to handle the Spider-Man reveal, until he does





	the five stages

**Author's Note:**

> finally saw ffh BLESS
> 
> anyway i'll be real and say that i didn;t like flash in hoco but in ffh he grew on me especially after those little bits about his parents being clearly distant/uncaring bc?? ouch?? i want to love him now?? cant wait for his redemption arc!! and highkey mcu spideyflash could potentially become valid like flash already has a huge crush on spiderman-
> 
> so yeah heres a thing i wrote to get my flash-related feelings out, highkey i want him and peter to be friends now okay
> 
> also its 4am and this is unedited so i apologize if it's SHIT
> 
> happy reading!!

Flash is at home when the broadcast comes on.

He’s not paying a whole lot of attention at first, because it’s the news and the news is boring as shit, but then the guy mentions Spider-Man and Mysterio and London and suddenly Flash is sitting up straight in his bed, heart going wild in his chest because _what._

“Holy shit,” he breathes when Mysterio’s bloodied face fills the television screen. “ _Holy shit_.”

The video is shaky and the sound is off a little but it’s clear that he’s panicking and in pain and when the camera pans to fucking Spider-Man standing beside him and saying something about execution Flash feels his stomach turn. It actually heaves when Mysterio comes back on and gasps, “ _Spider-Man- his real name is- is Peter Parker_.”

A photo fills the screen next, and Flash feels his heart stop because that’s _Parker_ , that’s his _classmate_ , that’s a kid he _knows_ on screen right there being announced to all of New York as their fucking friendly neighborhood Spider-Man.

His hands tremble hard when he picks up the remote and shuts off the TV.

“That doesn’t make any sense,” he mumbles to himself, pushing himself up off his bed and beginning to pace, but his legs are trembling and it’s hard to walk straight. “Parker’s not a – a fuckin’ superhero, and Spider-Man isn’t a…”

_A murderer_. God, he can barely bring himself to even think it because it doesn’t make any sense. Spider-Man doesn’t kill people, he just – he saves them, he gets involved in stupidly dangerous shit because he cares about others and he wants to help them; he’d never kill anybody, and especially not fellow heroes because that’s who Mysterio was, right? He may have been new and nowhere near as good as Spider-Man, but he was a hero. That’s what everyone’s been saying, at least.

And Parker…

If, by some miraculous fucking chance, Peter Parker is actually the Spider-Man, then that actually makes even less sense because Parker is a goddamn dweeb who probably cries when he has to kill bugs or some shit. He’s completely incapable of whatever the hell that video suggested he did, because it’s _Parker_.

Christ.

Flash’s knees give out from under him, and he falls against the wall, sliding down and then curling up in a ball that he doesn’t come out of for a long, long time.

-

He wants to beat the shit out of something.

It’s late afternoon now as Flash wanders the streets aimlessly, hands curled into shaking fists that are stuffed in his pockets because he’s trying his damndest to not actually hit anything. He wants to, but he knows from experience that doing so will only land him into more trouble that his parents will get him out of and then immediately go back to pretending that he doesn’t exist.

His hands clench harder, nails digging into the skin of his palms. _Breathe_ , he hisses to himself mentally, _you’re only pissing yourself off more._

But when he forces back thoughts of his parents, thoughts of Spider-Man take their place. He’s furious, is the thing, although he can’t really figure out what, exactly, is getting to him this badly.

A lot of it is probably the media slandering Spider-Man’s name. The news came out only a few hours ago and already there are, like, six different trending hastags all over Twitter and Instagram and, fuck, even Facebook where people are expressing their disgust and hatred for one of the world’s number one heroes as of yesterday. It’s sickening, really, seeing how fast people can turn.

Then again, he’s also pissed at Spider-Man himself for letting himself get ripped apart like this by these fucking losers online. He hasn’t tried to come forward yet at all to defend himself, probably laying low instead and just letting people do as they please.

It’s bullshit. Flash is tempted to do it himself, start up a livestream to tell people how fucking stupid they’re being because Spider-Man would never murder someone, at least not out of cold-blood, so if he did then he certainly had a reason, but he can’t. He can’t, because he’s scared that he’ll make it worse, and he just can’t.

And Parker. He’s pissed at Parker, too, because he hasn’t answered any of Flash’s panic-induced texts that mostly consist of “yo what the fuck,” “ur not actually spiderman r u,” “parker what the FUCK” and multiple “answer me dickwad what the fuck is goin on’s.”

There’s also a single “ik ur not spiderman but r u ok neway” that he deletes right after he sent it, so technically it didn’t happen.

-

He doesn’t feel like going back. It’s late, anyway, so if he were to sneak back in now somebody would find him, let it be a maid or butler or, god forbid, one of his parents, so he decides to just keep wandering until he knows for a fact that everyone at the house is asleep.

New York at night is weird. It’s still bright as all hell and loud as all fuck, but it’s also dark and almost creepy, which is something he’ll never admit out loud. But whatever, he’s lived here his whole life, he can deal with it.

Unfortunately, not even the noise of the big city can make his brain shut the fuck up, because all he ca think about is Spider-Man and, by extension, Parker.

The thing is, them being the same person just – it makes no sense, and if Parker was well-known by the rest of New York he’s sure that news broadcast would’ve been looked at as the dumb-ass rumor and piece of fake news that it was, because Parker being a hero is just fucking laughable.

Spider-Man’s too cool, anyway. He likes to swing around the city in that cool suit and, like, rescue cats from trees and knock out bad guys simultaneously because he’s awesome. Parker? The guy trips over himself walking into class and is probably one of the weakest kids he’s ever known. There’s not a bit of correlation between them. None at all.

He trudges past an alleyway, idly kicking at pebbles and similar shit on the ground, and then promptly freezes when someone from the alleyway hisses, “Hey, kid.”

Oh, fuck. He’s about to get mugged, isn’t he. Of course. Only the perfect end to the perfect day for Flash Thompson.

“Hey, man, I don’t have any money,” he says quickly, stone-still on the pavement. He looks into the alleyway, whimpering pathetically when he sees someone shift in the shadows. “I don’t have anything, fuck off.”

There’s a low laugh that makes Flash’s chest tighten, and the guy says, “Nah, I’m not buying it. You even sound like a rich little asshole, so don’t make it harder on yourself. Hand everything over.”

Flash can’t breathe. “Look, man–” he whispers, and then the figure in the shadows is suddenly gone, scream cut short by what, Flash doesn’t know, but the opportunity is there, so he starts to run, gasping already from the remnants of fear.

“Wait!” someone calls, and Flash freezes again because that’s– 

“Flash?” Parker says, and Flash whirls around to see him standing there, looking the same as he always does except for how shiny his eyes are and how red his face is and how thin his voice sounds. “Are… are you okay?”

“Spider-Man?” he whispers, and Parker’s face crumbles.

Something about how broken he looks makes Flash’s heart hurt.

“I’m fine,” he says after a moment, “though I’m, like, a hundred percent sure I could’ve taken that guy on by myself. But I guess we’ll never know.”

Parker blinks, and then let’s out the smallest laugh Flash has ever heard. “Yeah. Yeah, you could have. Um. I just… wanted to make sure that you were… alright. I’ll… leave you to whatever you were doing.”

“Wait,” Flash says immediately, then winces at how weird and desperate he sounded just then. “Can I… can we talk? Please?”

There’s a little flicker of fear in Parker’s eyes that disappears almost as quickly as it’d appeared, and after a moment he says quietly, “Yeah. Yeah, that’s… fine. Okay.”

“Okay,” Flash whispers, and he starts walking. He’s insanely relieved when Parker follows after him.

\- 

In the silence between them as they walk, Flash can’t help but think back to all the time’s he’s been an asshole to Parker, because of course. Of _fucking_ course they’re the same person and Flash has been making the guy he idolizes feel like shit for years because he doesn’t know how to handle people that are better than him in every way. Just like him, honestly.

“Why aren’t you in hiding?” he asks after the awful silence lasts way longer than it should. “Like, after that broadcast, you should be hidden in some secret Avengers shelter or something, yeah?”

Parker huffs what could be another laugh, but Flash can’t really tell. “I don’t know. I’m still… working things out. I’m more concerned about my family and friends. I don’t want them involved in more shit because of me.”

Ignoring the slight pang he feels at the phrase family and friends and knowing deep inside him that he’s not a part of that – understandably – Flash looks at him in disbelief. “Dude, you’re Spider-Man. People could find and kill you now because now they know. I think you’re allowed to be scared for yourself, unless there’s some secret Avengers code that says you can’t legally worry about yourself or something. Oh my god, is there?”

He’s rambling, he knows, but he can’t stop himself. He’s still got an adrenaline rush from earlier’s almost-mugging and the fact that he’s talking to Spider-Man, though the fact that it’s also Parker makes it a little less exciting than he ever would have imagined. Oh well.

“No,” Peter answers, sounding almost amused but mostly just tired. “But they’re more important to me.”

Flash shakes his head, scoffing. “I can’t believe people think you’re a murderer.”

He catches his eye in time to see them darken even more, and Parker drops his gaze. “Yeah,” he mutters. “A murderer.”

Christ. “Did… did you really kill Mysterio?” Flash asks quietly, trying not to let the horror show in his voice because if fucking Parker killed somebody then the person probably deserved it. “Because, like, he wasn’t that cool anyway. Nobody misses him.”

Parker’s startled laugh makes Flash feel a little better. “The details are… fuzzy,” he says after a moment, keeping his gaze on the ground. Flash just watches him, not sure what else he can say to make this better. There’s just something incredibly fucked up, Flash realizes, about his sudden want to comfort Peter Parker of all people.

“What a fucking day,” he says before Parker continues, and the weak smile he gets in response is a relief.

“What were you doing out here, by the way?” Parker asks.

“I hate my house,” Flash replies without really thinking. “My parents suck and they want nothing to do with me.” Maybe it’s the fact that it’s after midnight and they’re currently in that span of time where people feel like oversharing every detail of their life that he’s able to say that so openly.

Or maybe it’s just the soft concern in Parker’s eyes that’s making him say shit he’d never say to anyone in the daytime.

“I’m sorry,” Parker says, and he hesitantly pats his shoulder. It’s the lamest response he could’ve given, but it helps more than Flash will admit. “People suck.”

“Yeah,” Flash agrees, and they keep walking.

-

The sun’s barely started to come up when they happen upon Flash’s house, and he stops on the sidewalk to stare up at it.

Parker pauses with him. “Home?” he asks, and Flash just rolls his eyes.

“Why else would I have stopped?”

“You should probably go in, then,” Parker says eventually, and Flash shrugs.

“Probably.”

It’s quiet for another moment.

“Do you want to come to my apartment?” Parker blurts suddenly and then slaps a hand over his mouth like he can’t believe he just offered.

Flash can’t either, to be fair. His mouth hands open, and his face is suspiciously warmer than it should be. “I – are you sure it’s not, like, surrounded by your haters with pitchforks and all that shit?”

“Haters?” Parker mumbles, then shake his head and continues with, “No, the front desk people aren’t letting in anyone who doesn’t live in the building just in case they’re a threat. I think Fury paid them off or something. Besides, not many people know where I live, so…”

“Sure,” Flash says then. “I’ll come to your spider apartment. Just for now, though. I’ll go home later.”

Parker actually smiles at that. “Just for now. Cool.”

“Everything’s cool when it comes to me,” Flash agrees, and Peter just smiles wider.

“Wanna swing there?” he asks. “Not a lot of people can handle it, but maybe you’re cool enough to.” He offers a hand, and Flash eyes him apprehensively for a few seconds before rolling his eyes and grabbing it.

“Yeah, alright, Spider-Man. Let’s go.”

**Author's Note:**

> this is a mess i have got to stop writing this late
> 
> anyway yeet theres that i hope at least somebody somewhere enjoys this!! ah
> 
> have a good day/night <3
> 
> also find me on twitter @lynsayskick or tumblr @bookrockshooter to yell at me about marvel yeet


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